Maria and the Magic Mirro-Part 3
by Ashley3
Summary: Same as parts 1 & 2, but with more of the other characters


"Elizabeth Parker, beloved daughter and friend. 1983-September 19, 1999. Her smile will be sorely missed."  
Maria stared at the tombstone in disbelief. Liz? Dead? Something strange was going on. Maybe she was dreaming.  
"Oh, no, you're wide awake." Adara's voice came from behind her. Twisting around, Maria came face to face with the other girl.  
"What's going on? Why does this grave have Liz's name on it?"  
"Did you happen to note the day she died? September 19th."  
"The day she got shot at the Crashdown. The day Max saved her life." Maria whispered.  
"Yes and no. Right day, only here, Max wasn't there to save her."  
"What do you mean, 'here'?"  
"Destinies, my friend, change often and drastically. Every decision you make, everything that happens to you in the course of a single day influences your destiny. Some days just more drastically than others."  
"I...I don't understand."  
"As I said, I show people what they need to see. Your case was easier than most because all you needed to see was what your destiny was up until that day in September."  
"Wait!" Maria exclaimed. "You mean, I had a destiny one day, and then the next day gave me a completely new destiny?"  
"Bingo. You see, when Max healed Liz, he affected not just their two lives, but many others as well. Yourself, Alex, Michael, Isabel, Kyle, and Sheriff Valenti, just to name a few.  
"Look, I have to go now, but try to remember this. Here, it's been nearly seven years since Liz died. You're twenty-three, happily married for the past year and a half, and expecting. Have fun, kiddo."  
"Married? Expecting?" Maria repeated in a voice more squeak than words. And sure enough, when she looked own, her stomach was pushing her shirt out as though she were hiding a beach ball beneath it.  
Still staring at he stomach, Maria stammered, "You know, I think I've changed my mind. Adara? Adara?!"  
But Adara was gone, leaving Maria standing by her best friend's grave in a world that should never have existed.  
  
Alex Whitman walked down the sidewalk, trying to find something, anything to take his mind off of Isabel and the whole destiny thing. So far, nothing was working.  
He shoved his hands deep in his pockets. Glancing around, he noticed he'd made his way to Maria's block without realizing it. Anything was better than moping alone, even moping with someone else.  
"Guess it's true that misery loves company," he muttered to himself as he reached the front door.  
As he raised his hand to knock, he noticed that the door was open. Not much, maybe four or five inches, but it gave him a bad feeling.  
Stepping inside, Alex called, "Maria? Mrs. DeLuca? Anybody home?"  
No answer.  
As he passed through the kitchen, he noticed a note on the table. Feeling guilty all the while, he picked it up and scanned it. It was to Maria from her mother, saying she'd be home late. which explained why she wasn't home. But where was Maria?  
Alex headed toward Maria's room, his feeling of unease growing by the second. "Maria? Are you here? This isn't funny."  
He shoved her door open wide, hoping she was just asleep, or even waiting to jump out at him. But the room was empty.  
Turning to leave, a bright flash in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He walked over to the bed, looking down at the mirror that lay there. It was a silver one, like they had in those movies about lords and kings and the ladies who loved them.   
He picked it up, faintly surprised at the warmth of the handle. As he tipped it this way and that, a bright beam of sunlight lashed in his eyes.  
Squinting against the harsh glare, Alex thought he saw a girl with long red hair smiling at him through his rapidly clouding vision.  
  
Maria sat slumped on a bench at the edge of the cemetery. Though the day was far from cold, she was shivering.  
She had calmed down a bit since she'd found herself alone. And as she concentrated, she found she had memories from this world as well as from the one she'd just left.  
Mind-numbing pain as she realized Liz was gone and never coming back. The anger at everyone for not saving her. Useless wishes that she could have been the one to die and Liz the one to live.  
But most of all, there were memories of Alex. Alex holding her, crying with her. Alex letting her scream at him, helping her get through her anger. Alex yelling at her, telling her Liz wouldn't have wanted her to be so depressed.  
Alex holding her hand, not talking, just being there. Alex kissing her... telling her he loved her ...asking her to marry him ... sliding a ring on her finger ... smiling at her with tender eyes.  
Maria stared at the ring encircling the fourth finger of her left hand. She was married to Alex Whitman. Expecting his child. Her new memories told her it was going to be a girl. Elizabeth Marie, Ellie for short.  
The ring was engraved, she knew. A surprise from Alex. "Friends, lovers, and soul mates. A&M forever".  
But the words themselves weren't what scared her. It was the fact that they told the truth. Here, in this place, she loved Alex more than words could say. Was thrilled at the thought of spending the rest of her life with him.  
But the, here she'd never known Michael as more than a minor acquaintance. Not even well enough to say hello to. After high school, she had practically no memories at all of him, save one vague notice of him being trouble with the law.  
She had few memories of Max and Isabel as well. Reading about Isabel's acting career in the newspaper. Seeing Max at Liz's grave a couple of times and wondering if he'd had feeling for her friend.  
Maria sighed, struggling to gain her feet. Before starting back to the home she'd never seen before, she decided to visit Liz's grave once more. Permanent or not, losing her still hurt.  
As she neared the stone, she saw another figure standing before it. The man had broad shoulders and dark hair, and for a moment she thought it was Max. But then he turned, and she got a glimpse of his face. A face she was glad to see as Maria DeLuca and overjoyed to see as Maria Whitman.  
"Alex!" she called, waddling toward him as fast as she could manage. he faced her and she knew instantly that Adara had brought him here much as she herself had been brought. The intense look of confusion on his face reflected her earlier feelings.  
"Maria! Maria? It's you, right? But you're older...and pregnant! How did this happen?" he asked in a rush.  
"Hmmm, didn't think I'd be the one to tell you about the birds and the bees. Especially since you're the daddy."  
The look on Alex's face was so comical, Maria would have laughed if she hadn't felt so very much like crying.  
  
"So a not-quite genie brought us to a world that's not quite real through a magic mirror you found at a flea market?" Alex shoved a hand through his hair.  
"Doesn't quite make sense, does it?" Maria cracked, trying halfheartedly to lighten the mood. She reclined on the couch in "their" living room, swollen feet propped on a pillow.  
"What I wanna know is why? what purpose does this serve?" he mumbled, beginning to pace.   
"I'm more interested in getting home. Quite frankly, this little road trip into the unexplained is something I'm more than ready to end."  
"Oh, come on now. Here I thought you would be a good sport and play along for awhile."  
Adara sat on the window seat, legs crossed, hand folded demurely. Only her mischievous smile gave her away.  
"You're the girl from Maria's bedroom!" he growled, taking a step forward.  
"Smart little fortune cookie, ain't he? Cute, too. No wonder you married him." Adara addressed her comment to Maria, adding a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. When Maria merely glared , Adara sighed. "Straight to business?" Maria and Alex nodded. "So be it. first question please."  
"Why are we here?" they both asked at the same time.  
After visibly restraining a couple joke, Adara cut to the chase."You are here to be the teachers of a very important lesson."  
"What lesson?" Maria asked.  
"One you yourselves have yet to learn." She raised a hand, halting their comments. "As you learn, you will teach. It's as simple as that. But to learn, and hence, to teach, you must be here. This is the only place that it will happen.  
"As for how long you'll be here, the answer is until you've learned what you need to. don't worry, I doubt it'll take you more than a week. After that, you're free to leave.  
"One last thing before I go. Destinys change so fast, sometimes you get a split in the road. Either way could be good. Both will make you happy, bring you love, and so on. But only on is right. It all comes down to trusting yourself to choose that one. And in that instant, that second of choice, is when you shape your destiny. No one else. Just you, right then, right there. No decades old prophecy, no mother's advice can do that for you, or change it once it's done.  
"Destiny is all about recognizing that split, and knowing which way to turn when you come to it. Nothing more."  
Maria felt the truth of the words ring inside her. Closing her eyes to blink back tears, she silently thanked this girl who had kept her word and showed Maria the solution to her problem.  
Maria opened her eyes, not surprised in the least to see that Adara gone without a trace.  



End file.
